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| Mother & son (author). The Scottish Highlands (c.1958) |
ETERNAL rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.
REQUIEM æternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.
This year, today is also the start of my novena to St Joseph, spouse most chaste of the Blessed Virgin and foster-father of Our Lord.
1) The Annunciation
A virgin pure conceivedst,
When Gabriel's word, with meekest bow
Assenting, thou believedst. Hail Mary.
Quem virgo carens vitio
de flamine concepisti:
dum Gabrieli nuntio
humillime consensisti. Ave Maria.
O Mary, a virgin without any stain of sin, thou didst conceive of the Holy Spirit when, with deepest humility, Thou gavest thy assent to Gabriel, envoy (of the Almighty).
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us
Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis
I BELIEVE in … Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
CREDO … in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine,
Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine: Et homo factus est.
The Gospel account
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| The Annunciation. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
The text says that Mary was a virgin espoused to Joseph. The Latin word is desponsatam, which means promised or betrothed. It is generally believed that Mary was contracted to marry Joseph at the time of the Annunciation; she had not, however, moved in to live with Joseph. According to the existing law and custom, any child conceived during the period of betrothal was regarded as being conceived in wedlock.
The angel being come in, said to Mary: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” Mary was troubled at these words, and she thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. Gabriel reassured her, saying: “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Mary asked the angel a question: “How shall this be done, because I know not man?” Gabriel answered her, saying: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee, and therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Mary said: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word,” and the angel departed from her.
St Matthew supplies additional information regarding the conception and birth of Christ. He starts with the genealogy of Christ, starting with Abraham and descending to Joseph’s father Jacob. He uses the same form of words for each generation until he gets to Joseph, e.g., Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and so on. He changes the wording when he gets to Joseph, saying not that Joseph begot Jesus, but : “And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”
We may note firstly that Joseph is described as the husband (virum, man or husband) of Mary; and secondly that Joseph did not beget Jesus, but that He was born of Mary.
Matthew goes on to relate : “Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost.” This seems to confirm that Mary had not moved in to live with her husband at the time of the Annunciation. Matthew then describes Joseph’s reaction : “Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately.”
Joseph will have known certain things :
- Mary was betrothed to him as his wife; betrothal was by law and custom the same as marriage, with the sole difference that the bride had not yet left her home to live with her husband;
- he was not the father of the child Mary’s womb.
Beyond this, I am not sure what else Joseph knew or understood. Did he understand that Mary had taken a vow of virginity before the betrothal was agreed? Some writers think he did, and that he too had resolved to live chastely. Did he have any inkling of the true paternity of Mary’s child?
Whatever the answer to that question, Joseph was to receive reassurance from an Angel in his sleep:
“But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: ‘Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost; and she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins.”
It seems safe to assume that Joseph acted promptly after this message from the angel and that he took Mary at this point into his home to be his wife.
Prayer asking St Joseph to be one's companion and guide in this life
Oratio, ut S. Ioseph in via vitae huius ducem et comitem impetremus.
O SAINT JOSEPH, just as thou as father and mentor didst most faithfully guide Jesus Christ during His boyhood and adolescence through His journeys in this life, I beseech thee to assist me in the wanderings of my life as just such a companion and guide. Never permit me to turn aside from the path of God's commandments. Be for me a protection in adversity, and a solace in hardship, until I finally arrive in the land of the living, where I may rejoice forever with thee, with the most holy spouse Mary, and with all the saints in my God Jesus. Amen.
St. Joseph. J-J Tissot. O S. IOSEPH! qui tanquam pater et manuductor Christum Iesum in pueritia et iuventute per omnes peregrinationis humanæ vias fidelissime deduxisti: et mihi obsecro in vitae meæ peregrinatione tanquam comes et ductor assiste, nec unquam permitte me a via mandatorum Dei declinare; sis in adversis præsidium, in ærumnis solatium, donec tandem ad terram viventium perveniam, ubi tecum et sanctissima sponsa tua Maria, omnibusque Sanctis æternum in Deo Iesu meo exultem. Amen.
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